Don’t let money hold you back

Does money make the world go round? Some of us might say it makes the world stand still. When you don't have the means to afford what you need, such as a home, three meals a day and living in reasonable comfort, your life is ruled by the lack of money. Surviving in a capitalist society will always come back to needing money.

The need for money is, for some, so desperate that they will do nearly anything as it equals their survival or the survival of their children. One can imagine that it is hard to live life to the fullest and be the best you can be when your existence is threatened, or at least strictly controlled, by your lack of money.

Yet, those of us who have what we need to live lives that don't lack basic comforts are not easily satisfied for the most part. We have been taught that the more money you have, the more successful you are and the better your life will be because you can afford better things. Things that aren't necessary for survival, but we feel we need them to live comfortably. These things have never equaled contentment or happiness in the long run, as they are not necessary for survival and their value to our lives depend entirely on how we use them.

Sometimes it feels like things start to use us: we develop a dependence on things like cars, cell phones, computers or how we look that can be hard to break. If you can imagine yourself giving up all of the things you are dependent on with ease, you are very lucky. It means that you are happy with having what you need and not what you want and that you are content with who you are outside of all these things.

It means that your world does not revolve around money and what it bought for you. When your life revolves around money, the man with everything he needs is just as controlled and restricted as someone who doesn't know where their next meal will come from.

It is therefore no surprise that people have rediscovered the value of nature and how disconnecting from society and gadgets can bring them the comfort that they were looking for in the first place. Living stress-free is much more comforting than worrying about how you're going to get out of debt, when you will be able to relax or how you're going to reconnect with the people in your life.

Many people have made the conscious decision to be happy with earning less than they can because it means that they get to make time for things that truly matter to them. Appreciating the money that you have instead of wishing for more and more can only make you more peaceful and content. Then, money is a tool in your life, a necessary evil, and not the beginning and end of who you are and where you're going.